Politics
The Suez crisis in numbers as 220k-tonne Ever Given carrying 20k containers blocks £7bn of cargo per DAY
SALVAGE experts were last night praying a super-high tide would help move the grounded container ship blocking one of world’s busiest routes.
But if efforts to dislodge the 220,000-tonne vessel in the Suez Canal fail, it is likely to stay there for many more days, trapping goods worth millions destined for Britain.
It is nearly a week since the Ever Given – with more 20,000 containers on board – got stuck on its way to Rotterdam in the Netherlands, then Felixstowe, Suffolk.
Rescue crews said they managed to move the stern 30 metres during an earlier attempt yesterday.
Later, two tugboats arrived at the southern end of the canal.
At 11pm they were to join 14 other tugs in performing a “backwards twist” manoeuvre to drag the vessel away from the bank, where it is blocking more than 300 ships.
The plan was to use a super-high tide to finally float the Ever Given, which is as high as a 20-storey block of flats.
But if the attempt fails, it is three weeks before another big tide.
It’s hoped work will start today to begin moving the stricken vessel[/caption]
Rescue vessels work at the site of the stuck container ship Ever Given[/caption]
Two more tugboats were sent to try and free the stricken ship[/caption]
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Plan B will be to lift off thousands of containers to make the ship lighter.
Maritime expert John Konrad said: “The containers are a problem as they’re stacked so tall.
“Not many cranes reach that high.”
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